It is especially important to check all of your mirrors regularly when on the motorway, particularly before making any manoeuvre or lane change.

Signal early to give other road users time to react before you make a move – many people will be happy to let you out if given enough warning.

Change lanes gradually. Don’t expect or force other drivers to move out of your way.

Don’t compromise your safe following distance when changing lanes. Always look out for other cars aiming to move into the same space as you from another lane.

Never get in the way of other vehicles unnecessarily. Always try and stay on the left hand side of faster moving traffic.

Read the overhead gantry signs – they give useful information and can help you decide which lane to use.

If you are in lane two, watch the gaps in the traffic in lane one – that way you can spot that someone will want to move out into your lane, and be able to plan your own lane change earlier, rather than having to manage it at the last minute

Alastair Sloane has been a newspaper journalist for more than 40 years. He was the motoring editor of the New Zealand Herald for 16 years from 1996 until 2012. He owns a 1968 VW Beetle. Best days at the wheel include doing part of the Land Rover Camel Trophy route in Papua New Guinea, driving a Nissan Patrol over earthquake-hit roads in Guatemala, and a Ferrari Italia on Enzo’s old hill-climb road in Italy.

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